If you read any of the posts where rituals and portals are mentioned, you know by now that I have been tasked with opening of portals between human world and the world of Fairy and to
diligently keep them open. It is a job I have to carry on at specific times throughout the year. The purpose of opening such portals is to give more free access to beings and energies of Fairy to flow into the human world which is in dire need for re-enchanting (Daimler, 2018; id. 2020). It is a necessary thing for both sides, fairy and human, because this “transfusion” helps restore a heavily compromised balance. Diminishing of fairy presence by aggressively blocking their access, and displacement of their populations1 – knowingly or unknowingly- has brought about problems on every imaginable level. Just take a look at the ecological, health, and spiritual crises humanity is confronted as we speak. (Yes, I said this in previous posts, and I repeat it here again: this is causal and not simply coincidental.)
The Culmination of the Pleiades occurs around November 21-23. At this time, at midnight, the Pleiades will be positioned right above the head, at the center of the celestial cupola. Pleiades’ Culmination, their presence in the sky, marks the liminal threshold when Fall yields to Winter. There is plenty of evidence that fairies do time various holy days based on stars cycles, the Pleiades in this particular case. The November Culmination is one among the dates when– as I was told- the time for portal-opening2 for optimal. The ritual structure and most of what is to be said and done during this ritual came to me during a meditation I’ve done with the specific intent of accessing such information.
Outline for the Ritual
- Start standing at the center of the space where the ritual will take place. Face the direction that you would usually face when beginning a ritual. For example, I begin facing my altar by the Fairy Tree, then first turn North.)
- Announce what you are about to do, using words like: “I am setting sacred space. In this sacred space I will open a portal between worlds, human and fairy, a portal that shall allow the two worlds to merge within the confines of the space that I dedicate to this purpose”
- Turning to the left, walk a spiral path starting at the center and gradually expanding toward the periphery of the space. You can walk one several coils, depending on how large your space is. (As I spiral outward- my space accommodates a 3-coils spiral- I sprinkle water on the ground and repeat my intention.)
- When you reach the periphery of your space, walk one full circle to mark the outer boundary. (I have a copper bowl filled with water in which I soak herbs that I know are pleasant to fairies and Fairy Higher Powers. As I walk around this last full circle, I sprinkle herb-infused water on the ground. In my experience, it makes the space feel really good, and it is a nice way to welcome the Powers that I seek to invite. You may want to sprinkle water and/or dried flowers as you walk throughout the whole spiral path, not just the outer bounds. You may wish to use plain water, scatter leaves or something else, or use nothing at all beside your own intent.)
- After you finished walking the circle that defines the outer boundary of your ritual space and sets the size of the portal, acknowledge the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, Seven Queen, or The Hen & Chicken as I knew it while growing up. Begin inviting the Powers that you associate with the Autumn Equinox. You can do this is any way that suits you, so feel free to adapt what I describe below.
(As I already mentioned, I am personally connected with seven main Fairy Liminal Powers, or Fairy Liminal Gods, and four other more regional or seasonal ones. In my own experience, five among these seven relate to the November Culmination. They are: Keeper of the Passages/The Gatekeeper, Queen of Winds, The Hunter/Arrow Master, Queen of Waters, and The Earth Queen. These five Fairy Gods are the ones that I call to both anchor the portal, and bring in the blessings of the season along with balance through the months to come.)
- I begin the ritual by standing at the center of the space which is my backyard.
- I have prepared a small jug with fresh water, which will be the first offering I make to the Powers.
(Call the Powers that you feel drawn to call. Even if you resonate with the ones that I mention here, still know that you can call them in any order you chose. For me personally, this order is arbitrary since I do not have any fixed correspondences that link a Power to a specific cardinal direction.)
- I stand at the center, facing the Fairy Tree. I call the Keeper of the Passages/Gatekeeper to open the gates between worlds and help me keep them wide open. I ask the Gatekeeper to grant passage from one side to the other only to those among humans and fairies who are goodly inclined toward each other’s world and its inhabitants. I invite his presence and his blessing in the ritual space that I am creating. I welcome the Keeper of the Passages and pour out some water as an offering for him.
- I turn to face North. I invite the The Queen of Waters: she is the spirit present in the raindrops that enlivens the land ensuring life for vegetation and animals; she is in the downpours that make torrents and rivers swell, in oceans and sees as much as she is present in the crystal-clear lakes, mountain springs and small puddles. She is within tears and dew drops, in the pearls of sweat rolling down the skin, in blood as well as in plants’ juices. She is the moisture the nourishes the dormant seed ensuring it will grow into seedling and mighty tree. I welcome the Queen of Waters and pour out some water as an offering to her.
- I turn to face East, and call the Queen of Winds: she holds power over the first and last breaths, she is the air in the freshly aerated soil awaiting the seeds to fell and nestle into; the hollow and mysteries of caves, and bubbles in the lacy crests of ocean waves; she’s in the burning fire logs, in the flame and the popping; she’s in the fluffiness of snow but also in the deadly blizzards; she is in the whipping November winds and winter storms, lamenting among barren branches and whistling in the dark, long nights. I welcome the Queen of Winds, and pour out some water as an offering to her.
- I turn South, and call The Hunter/Arrow Master: he impersonates separation of life force from the physical form, and cessation of embodied existence. His/their arrow releases the last breath which then the Queen of Winds receives upon life departing the body. The Hunter King ends suffering for the very old, and for the pained ones who are tired of dragging on yet another day. He/they is in the decaying leaves, the fallen tree trunks, the corpses and carcasses that feed the soil and the myriad of tiny creatures. He/they trims down the numbers of animals in the wild to maintain balance: none shall exceed in numbers and none shall starve on his watch. His cutting down and cutting out is not gratuitous cruelty but caring for the new life that needs nourishment and space to emerge and grow. I welcome the Hunter/Arrow Master and pour out some water as an offering for him.
- I turn West and call the Earth Queen. She is both part of the earth but also the earth itself, the rocky grounds and fertile soil, the power within crystals, gems, and metals, the walls of caves and bottom of seas and rivers. She’s the one who hides or uncovers springs, and is behind the life-giving powers of waters. She’s also present within the magnificent desolation of deserts and beneath icecaps. She supports life and also receives the bodies as she is both the nurturer and the recycler. I invite her presence and her blessing in the ritual space that I am creating. I welcome the Earth Queen, and pour out some water as an offering to her.
(You may notice that I change the direction and turn clockwise as I invite the Powers. I do this in order to both raise, and balance the energy within the space. To open the portal, I walked counterclockwise. I will not close the portal, and therefore I will not walk the opposite way at the very end. Personally I feel I need to bring in a balancing element/action so the energy of the space doesn’t go haywire- hence the change of direction: counterclockwise to open, clockwise to raise energy and ground it. You may change to whatever suits you, based on your own training, intuition, and guidance from your own fairy advisers.)
- Stand at the center and face any direction that you chose: ask the Powers, collectively, to anchor the portal and guard it so only those fairies and Fairy beings who are benevolent to you and beneficial for the place may come through.
- Standing at the center, or by the altar – if you have created one- and face any direction you chose. Invite the Fairy Queen or King that you are devoted to or connected with, if there is/are any. Pour out water for them too. Affirm that the portal is open for them to move through as they please, and ask them to guard it against any inimical being that may want to come in.
- If you believe that you have ancestors or relatives in Fairy, invite them to join. Pour out water for them. Affirm that the portal is open for them to move through as they please, and ask them to guard it against any inimical being that may want to come in.
- Invite your fairy familiar(s) and allies. Pour out water for each of them, and greet them individually. Affirm that the portal is open for them to move through as they please, and ask them to guard it against any inimical being that may want to come through.
- Express your gratitude for the presence and support coming from those that you invited and the peoples they represent.
- Intend for the portal to remain open and bridge the worlds asunder, human and Fairy.
- Present the offerings of food, and other drinks if you have any (I usually have cakes3, or fresh bread and butter, fresh fruit, or a portion of what I have cooked for myself and my family. I may also offer milk, wine, beer, fruit juice etc. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but whatever it is, it shall be the best quality you can afford.)
- If you have any other offering, such as song, dance, reading aloud something that you chose for Them, you can deliver that now.
- You can burn incense or fragrant herbs as part of offerings. (MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON’T BURN ANYTHING TOXIC!!)
- Leave the offerings in their dishes in the ritual space for as long as you plan to be around celebrating the Equinox. Please keep in mind that on this particular occasion the ritual focuses on opening a portal between Fairy and the human world. Celebrating the Autumn Equinox is part of this ritual, but it is more of a backdrop rather than the main purpose in itself. So prepare accordingly, and elaborate your celebratory aspects as much as you like; what I intend to provide here is only an outline, and my focus is on the portal opening part. Make merry and feast, and when you are done, pour out the offerings: you can burry them, put them into fire if you are having a fire for the occasion, or leave them on a rock, or on what would represent an outdoor altar space. Be careful about what you leave outside, and make sure it is not toxic for the wildlife or the vegetation around. Alcohol is damaging for herbs and animals, and chocolate is toxic for dogs and the canis family in general (wolves, coyotes, foxes – etc), so best burry or burn those items.
- Since there is no plan to close the portal, find a moment to tell your Fairy invitees that they may stay or leave as they wish. A while ago, during my training in witchcraft I learned the formula “In good will and perfect trust/ stay if you will, go if you must.” I like it and still use it, although I occasionally may play around with the wording.
- Let the ritual melt into the rest of you day, evening, or night, without closing abruptly, so that it mirrors the opening of the portal and the smooth flow between world, a subtle but continuous process without any steep halting to it.
Happy November Culmination of the Pleiades, and may the starlight always shine bright on your path.
Daniela
PS. I will give more details about the Liminal Powers in an future posts.
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1 As Norsemen began to populate Iceland they encountered the local land wights and alfs who acted benevolently toward the newly arrived. Making offerings and treating the local wights and alfs with respect ensured humans’ survival. Wights shared knowledge and made crops and game plentiful. Advancing of Christianity destroyed the balance. Priests sprinkled holy water on places where alfs dwelt which made them leave. In leaving however the alfs and wights took away the land’s abundance, and people were left to deal with the problem. (Gundarsson, 2007; id.1993) In feuding against each other, chieftains and kings intentionally offended the wights and alfs dwelling into the opponents’ land to cause their downfall because without protection form local alfs and wights no ruler has control or power over land. (Gundarsson, 2007; id.1993) In Ireland, fairies seem to be bothered by church bells ringing which may cause them to abandon an area. (www.duchas.ie; Daimler, 2017; id. 2020) Destruction of fairy places is another reason for them to leave, oftentimes not before taking revenge on the humans who caused the destruction. (Gundarson, 2007; Paxon, 2021)
2 Portals open automatically at different times and/or in specific places, but ritual action actively supports the process by landing more energy to it. More over, through ritual action such portals can be anchored into physical places so they become permanent or semi-permanent. With these in mind, portals are not to be opened randomly and carelessly.
3 Daimler, “Living Fairy,” 2020.
4 For details you may check Daniela Simina, Pagan Portals “A Fairy Path: The Memoir of a Young Fairy Seer in Training”, 2023, autobiographic on amazon.com
Bibliography and Resources
Books:
Carding, Emily “Faery Craft: Weaving Connections with the Enchanted Realm”, 2012
Daimler, Morgan “Travelling the Fairy Path”, 2018
Daimler, Morgan “Living Fairy”, 2020
Daimler, Morgan “Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folk”, 2017
Daimler, Morgan “A Modern Dictionary of Fairies: A 21st Century Exploration of Celtic and Realted Western European Fairies”, 2020
Gundarsson, Kveldulf “Teutonic Religion: Folk Beliefs and Practices of the Northern Traditions”, 1993
Gundarsson Kveldulf “Elves, Wights, and Trolls: Studies Towards the Practice of Germanic Hethenry, Vol.1”, 2007
Paxon, Diana, L. “Taking up the Runes: A Complete Guide to Using Runes in Spells, Rituals, Divination, and Magic”, 2021
Simina, Daniela, “A Fairy Path: The Memoir of a Young Fairy Seer in Training”, 2023
On-line articles:
“The Fairy Dwelling on Selena Mor” https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/swc2/swc216.htm
Daimler, Morgan “Liminal Gods- Deeper Theology”, January, 2021 https://lairbhan.blogspot.com/search?q=Liminal+Gods
“The School Collection”, https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes
Classes:
Heath, Cat “Elves and Witches: A survival Guide”, contact Cat Heath at seo.helrune@gmail.com
Heath, Cat “Mound Magic: Elves, Necromancy, and Adaptation” Parts 1&2, contact Cat Heath at seo.helrune@gmail.com
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